Pakistan's IPL omission

When the dust settles and the highly charged oratory duels subside, perhaps there will be space for better considered analysis on the recently concluded auction of the third installment of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pakistan, whose 11 cricketers led the shortlist for the third IPL auction — the most representation from any one nation — failed to obtain contracts from IPL franchises.

Arguments that the decision not to select Pakistani cricketers was based purely on business and on franchises’ unwillingness to dispense with additional money for Pakistani players’ security are simply disingenuous. Cricketers from other nations — Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa — receive the kind of security cover in India that can only be upgraded if the players are escorted in armored personnel carriers. It is laughable that this theory finds credence.

But cricket is an interesting sport. Unlike several other sports, international cricket — where cricketers represent their country and are contracted to a board that is at least quasi-governmental — is still more popular than league cricket. In this respect, IPL’s cricketers are mostly selected based on their current status as international cricketers representing their country, their past status as international cricketers or their potential as future international cricketers.

As representatives of a quasi-governmental board it is also appropriate that these international cricketers be subject to the diktats of the governments they represent. South African cricket bore the force of government diktat when some countries refused to tour South Africa in the years of apartheid — likewise today, Zimbabwe is ostracized by some boards as an extension of their governments’ foreign policies towards the African country.

Therefore, if following the 26/11 attacks, it was the Indian government’s diktat not to commit to ties with the quasi-governmental Pakistan Cricket Board (whose chairman is still a direct appointee of the President of Pakistan and chief patron of the PCB — Asif Ali Zardari) this is also fair and consistent with India’s intention to not engage with Pakistan.

That being the case, why were Pakistani cricketers placed on the auction in the first place? If the decision of the quasi-governmental BCCI was to maintain a suspension of ties with the PCB, then how did its subsidiary — the IPL — seemingly overrule this decision?

They say “with great power comes great responsibility”. Yesterday’s abomination was concoction of a cricket board drunk with power, and a government that thinks puerile jabs are to way to go when it is unable to force issues on the international political scene.

You don’t want Pakistan to play in India? Fine. You don’t want their cricketers to participate in the IPL? Fine. But this mockery could have been avoided. What was the Indian government trying to prove to Pakistan yesterday? What purpose did it serve? Why the pettiness?

“IPL’s cricketers are mostly selected based on their current status as international cricketers representing their country, their past status as international cricketers or their potential as future international cricketers.”

That statement was also not true for Bangladesh’s lone participant at the auction Shakib Al Hasan (No. 1 in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings). The current Bangladesh captain was also left out with no one bidding for him.

@Rezwan: Aren’t both Shakib and Mashrafe contracted with the BCB? My statement was that while these players are representing themselves in the IPL, their selection is based on the relation with their national cricket boards. I believe this fairly accurate.

I think we are barking at the wrong tree .Indo – Pak relation are already at rock bottom and to give a new angle to already a much much tangled issue is too much .

The best thing which we can now do it to is to contain this to IPL -III alone .

The funny side to this is , while the non state actors of pak are the Let or hizbuls we have the BCCI fightng India’s diplomatic wars…. ISI must be surely laughing… And for a country who keeps a gun on his head to extract leverages out of West , there is nothing which can same it , atleast the govt.

Articles on this blog are really gud , they bring sanity to the noise called news or views…Gud job done

We can buy the arguement that the IPL franchisees didnt want to bid for limited slots open this year based on their team strategies.
However the people like SRK, Kolkata team owner’s statement about alleged IPL’s bad treatment to Paki players is just a drama. He was one of the owners, he could have bidded for any of them. He is acting for the front-benchers with his statements. I suspect his statement is an indirect way to gain media attention and thereby promote his new film.